2 Best Sights in Suyapa, Tegucigalpa

Overshadowing the smaller church is the mammoth white-and-gray gothic Basílica de Suyapa. The beautiful sky-blue stained-glass windows are inspirational, but the basilica's haughty air makes it far less intimate than the church. It was built in 1954 to house the Virgen de Suyapa and to accommodate the crowds who pay homage, but she is not fond of it. On many occasions she has left it at night, found back at her original perch the following morning. She consents to be displayed here on her feast day, February 3, when pilgrims descend on the town to honor her.

The statue of the Virgen de Suyapa can be found in the 16th-century Iglesia de Suyapa, an intimate church where the flickering of candles lit by the faithful can be quite humbling. The figure, so tiny you'll need to squint to see it, is housed above the altar. Religious items, such as decorative prayer cards featuring the image of the Virgin, are for sale in the stalls down the steps from the church. Each February there is a pilgrimage to celebrate the day of the Virgin of Suyapa, and many vendors and food stalls are set up.